The French Canadian film “Starbuck” is the opening-night offering.

'Starbuck'

The 2012 Milwaukee Film Festival has its debut Thursday with a French-language comedy from Canada about a sperm donor who has fathered 533 children, 142 of whom want to meet him. It screens at 6:30 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave.

Advance tickets are sold out, but rush tickets, which go on sale 15 minutes before the screening, could become available.

Tickets for festival films are $10 for the general public, $9 for seniors and festival members, and $6 for children and for all children's screenings; rush tickets are $10. Thursday's premiere is followed by an opening-night party at Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Drive, with music by Harvey Scales and Kings Go Forth. General admission to the party is $25, or $15 for festival members and those with an opening-night ticket.

Go to www.mkefilm.org for more information and a complete schedule. The festival runs through Oct. 11.